Imaret Turkish Bath – Afyon

Name of Hamam: Imaret Hamamı

Date Built: 1475

Traditional style: Yes

Date of Visit: Oct 18 2019

Location: At the corner of Kurtuluş and Birlik streets, next to Imaret/Gedik Paşa Mosque.

Price (in Lira): 20/10/10 (hamam entry/scrub/massage)

Tip Expected: Yes

Drinks: Yes     Free:  No

There is a section for both Men and Women.

Reviewed for: Men

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Never been to a Turkish Bath? Make sure to check out the History of Turkish Baths or our guide explaining just what goes on at a Turkish Bath here before visiting!

 

Final Score: 41/50

There are aspects of Imaret Turkish Bath that are outstanding and there are other aspects that could use improvement. By way of strengths, Imaret Turkish Bath is a great classic Turkish Bath with aged woodwork and dim lights in the common room, domed rooms and marble everything in the heated sections. I’m sure you won’t find a more thorough scrub and massage anywhere else in Turkey unless you pay ten to twenty times the price at some spa.

The only unfortunate weakness at this Turkish Bath would be the cleanliness. Towels were nice and fresh, sheets in the changerooms were clean but the changeroom floor could use a more thorough cleaning. In the bath section the domes need a fresh coat of paint and the surfaces could use a more thorough cleaning as well. While there is a mildew smell in the room under the main dome, Imaret is otherwise kept surprisingly scent free for its age.

Between the highlights of Imaret Turkish Bath and the fact that the place is still kept decently clean, we give it 82% as an overall score. Make sure to check out the full score breakdown to see where Imaret Turkish Bath did well and where it lost points.

 

 

Score breakdown (All scores out of 5)

Length of stay: 5

Note: no one came around to rush us and we felt like we had just the right amount of time.

 

Change room: 3.5

Note: Change rooms were small and could be cleaner.

 

Common room: 4

Note: The common room is a nice classic space with a bit of seating so you can sip a drink while you cool off. Lots of wood and stone authenticity.

 

Hamam Features: 4

Note: Shaving room and dry sauna are nice extras.

 

Hamam esthetics: 3

Note:  The original design of this 500-year-old bath house included some nice details in the dome though, more modern restoration to the marble work was somewhat sloppily done.

 

Cleanliness: 3

Note: This is really the biggest issue with this Hamam, while most of the surfaces were clean floors don’t seem to be scrubbed very often and the mildew in the domes was getting quite bad.

 

Heat: 4.5

Note: For the most part the heat was great. Air temperature in all parts of the sauna were good, hot water, cold water, and a nice hot marble slab to lay on. Only issue was that some of the benches were too hot to even sit on.

 

Smell: 4

Note: The only smell at Imaret Turkish Bath came from the mildew, amazingly the 500-year-old bathrooms didn’t smell at all.

 

Quality of Scrub/Massage: 5

Note: INCREDIBLY thorough, my only complaint would be that it was a bit too intense at times.

 

Staff: 5

Note: Staff were very friendly and quick to chat. Service was good, and there was no overbearing begging for tips.

Never been to a Turkish Bath? Make sure to check out the History of the Turkish Bath or our guide explaining just what goes on at a Turkish Bath here before visiting!

Have any tips or info to add? Spot any mistakes? We’d love to hear about it.